Second Chance
by CRITICly Anonymous
Summary: At thirteen, Drew had a dream to become Top Coordinator, but his brother's journey-related death caused his parents to keep him from doing so. With some encouraging words by someone who believes in him, Drew feels ready to do whatever it takes to follow his dream. ONESHOT


A/N: This fic is inspired by Shinedown's Second Chance, NOT based on.

* * *

Second Chance

Drew stared at the picture of a grave with no emotion. Declan, his older brother, had died four years earlier on his pokèmon journey to become Top Coordinator. He had been handling pokèmon for six years before the death. The two were close, each sharing a dream to be a coordinator. Everyone always said the two were one in the same: they grew up the same way, loved the same things, ate the same things, even looked the same. Perhaps the one thing that was different was that only Declan had gotten a chance to fulfill his dream.

Declan died only a few weeks before Drew was due to start his journey. Because of his death, Drew's parents immediately cancelled his appointment with Professor Birch and forced him to stay home. They enrolled him into an academic school, away from pokèmon, at LaRousse Academy of Learning. Many of the teachers there had been failed trainers who found their area of expertise Math, English, History, or Sciences. The students were those expected to be research assistants, department store clerks, or nurses who worked with tamed pokèmon. Nothing that Drew was interested in.

He did have one favorite teacher, though: Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee was Drew's GPE (General Pokèmon Education) teacher, an older man in his mid-twenties who had gone on to win the Ribbon Cup three times. He retired and began teaching at LaRousse Academy. Being experienced, he knew much about Pokemon. He would always share his stories with the class, and sometimes Drew would even get to hear even more if Mr. Lee had time after class. Drew always looked at Mr. Lee with adoration as he described neck-and-neck battles, dangerous journey-gone-wrong situations, and the life long friendships he'd made.

"Why do you like hearing my tales so much, Drew?" Mr. Lee had asked one day after class.

"So that I can walk in the footsteps of a Top Coordinator," Drew had replied. Mr. Lee had seemed taken aback.

"You mean you want to be a Coordinator, Drew? Why are you here, then?"

"My brother Declan died when he was on his journey, so my parents won't let me go on one," Drew had said. He remembered the shock on his teacher's face.

"Declan?" Drew had only nodded.

"One day, though, I'm going to be a coordinator like him." Mr. Lee had stared at Drew momentarily before laughing.

"Make sure I get an autograph, Drew."

"Sure, but you'll have to pay for my picture like everyone else," Drew teased, flipping his hair. Again, Mr. Lee had laughed. It had been awhile since that conversation, but nothing had changed. He was still stuck in this stupid classroom, where he had to learn things irrelevant to being a coordinator.

Today, however, Mr. Lee had given the class a drawing assignment.

"Okay, guys, its the end of the day, so i'll let you leave after you do one thing: I want you guys to close your eyes and picture the thing you really want to be when you're older." Drew closed his eyes, imagining himself as a coordinator. "Now, I want you guys to think of the one thing that preventing you from being that person and I want you to draw it."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Lee! This is baby stuff! We're ten!" a student had called.

"Most of us, anyway..." a girl had whispered. The class snickered, leaving Drew to look down in shame. He was the oldest student in the class, at thirteen. Most students started Academics when they were seven, but since Drew was planning on being on a journey, he went to a different school that prepared him for his journey. When he was prevented from doing so, he was registered late, therefore being way behind other students his age.

Mr. Lee glared at the students, who immediately shut up. It didn't prevent Drew from being embarrassed, but he ignored the feeling and went to work.

He was left with a picture of his dead brother's grave. It was his fault after all, that he couldn't be a coordinator, right? He continued to stare, as the rest of his class worked. His lack of emotion was beginning to turn into anger and resentment.

"Okay, class, we're outta time, but to finish, I want you all to throw away that picture," Mr. Lee directed.

"Oh, come on! We worked hard on these and your not gonna grade em?" a student objected.

"Nope. You are all nearing adulthood guys, close to following your dreams. The only thing that's stopping you is your obstacle. So get rid of them," Mr. Lee said. Drew angrily crumpled his picture before tossing it in the trash. He was about to leave, along with his class, however his teacher called him, before he could.

"Drew? Can I see you for a minute?" Drew walked back to his teacher.

"Yeah?"

"No stories today, Drew?" Mr. Lee asked with a smile. Drew shrugged.

"Not in the mood today, I guess," he replied.

"Drew," Mr. Lee started. "I want you to meet a friend of mine." The teacher opened his desk and took out a pokèball. He clicked on the button to enlarge it before pointing it next to Drew. A burst of red light emerged from the ball, until it took the shape of a Roselia. The pokemon smiled, looking up at Drew.

"Roselia."

"I caught Roselia here near the end of my journey, but she was incredible at contests. Most of all, I think Roselia's passion for them rivaled mine," Mr. Lee explained.

"I don't understand, Mr. Lee. Roselia is beautiful and all but why are you showing me her?"

"I saw your picture, Drew..." To this, Drew didn't say anything. He prepared himself for the 'It's not his fault' speech that he'd heard so much. "You know, I was a friend of your brother's." This surprised Drew. Never once did Mr. Lee tell him that he knew Declan. Mr. Lee continued on."I even competed against him. I wasn't there that day when he..." He paused as he recalled Declan. "It doesn't matter. The fact is, I know your brother wouldn't want you here, at this academy for three more years, when you should be following your dreams." Mr. Lee crouched down to Drew's level. "You're 13, Drew. You know in Hoenn, that makes you a legal adult, right? That means your parents can't stop you from your journey."

"But they're my parents. I can't go against what they say," Drew replied, looking down.

"Sometimes, to follow our dreams, we have to do things that other people may not like," Mr. Lee explained. But the thing is, Drew, we shouldn't try to make other people happy all of our lives. It's okay to want something and to do everything you can to make it happen, even if it means breaking some rules. Now, don't go breaking laws or anything, but you understand what I'm saying?" Drew nodded.

"But I don't have a pokemon. And it's too late for me to get one from Professor Birch." Mr. Lee pulled out Roselia's pokèball, recalling her back to the capsule.

"You have Roselia." Drew's eyes widened in shock.

"But that's your pokemon! I can't just take her." Despite his words, however, he eyed the gift as though it were a shiny new Pokénav, with the greatest new apps. Mr. Lee laughed.

"Nonsense, Drew. Roselia's been looking for a contest for quite some time. I'm glad she'll be able to do it with as skilled a person as you." He held the pokèball for Drew to take, to which he did. He held the prize in his hands, as though it were the greatest gift of all. "I have another thing to give you, Drew." Drew's head snapped up from the capsule. What else could Mr. Lee possibly give him that could make this day any better?

He pulled out a sleek, shiny ribbon case, along with 3 new pokèballs.

"You can put your ribbons in here and use these to catch new pokèmon," Mr. Lee told him, as Drew took them in his hands.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Drew stared at his new possessions as though they were the solution to solve an illness he'd been diagnosed with.

"Drew..." Drew looked into the eyes of his smiling teacher. "I know you can become the Top Coordinator. I know you can even go beyond that. You'll inspire people around you, Drew. And I'll be proud that I could have assisted you in that. Never, ever give up. Be confident in yourself, and you'll achieve your dream soon enough." Mr. Lee stood up, reaching for his bags to pack up. "There's a contest in Rustboro. I'm sure I'll see you on TV?"

"Yes! I'll be there and I won't lose. I won't let you down, Mr. Lee!" Mr. Lee laughed.

"Drew, the only way you could let me down is if you didn't try." He looked at the door. "Well, I have to go, but I really hope you do well on your journey."

"Thank you, Mr. Lee."

* * *

A news reporter stood in front of the LaRousse Academy of Learning. The principal stood next to her, replying to his question.

"Well, I can definitely tell you, we do not tolerate that sort of thing. I do not know what Hal was thinking, I really don't, but I guarantee you: letting children go off on journeys without parental consent is _not_ our way." The screen switched to the teacher himself, showing "Hal Lee- Teacher in question."

"Drew is an adult, not a child, who had dreams. I became a teacher not to just teach young adults, but to encourage them to be the best they can be. And Drew wasn't going to get to do that if he stayed here. Drew has a lot of potential. And I will never regret helping him." The screen switched to his tearful parents.

"That man caused my baby to run off on his own. I've already lost one son, letting him go on a journey, and now I have to worry every night that Drew is gone that I'll lose another." His mother dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "Drew, please, come home. What have you got to prove? Your dreams aren't worth your life."

"It's ridiculous," his father added. "Teachers aren't there to tell their students to do this kind of stuff, they're there to _teach_. That's all they should be doing, _not_ telling _my_ son to go run away." The television switched back to the news reporter.

"Well, Hoenn, there it is. A week ago, a young man, known by the name of Drew, was encouraged by his teacher, Hal Lee, to become a coordinator. Hal Lee is currently facing losing his job, but it doesn't seem Hoenn is happy with that. Everywhere, people of Hoenn are protesting, saying that the teacher was right to do what he did. Nonetheless, many people are desperately wishing for Drew's return. Anyone who has any information on this boy's whereabouts can contact their local police force. Brian, back to you."

Drew stared at the television in disbelief. He had caused so much turmoil. His teacher might lose his job because of him. He clenched his fists, not knowing what to do. He was distracted by Roselia saying its own name. Roselia looked at him with an encouraging smile. He didn't know how to understand pokèmon speech, but somehow he knew Roselia was trying to encourage him.

"You're right, Roselia. This just means we really have to win." Roselia nodded in agreement. Drew knew his parents would be watching, and his teacher, and much of Hoenn. He had to prove to the world that he could do this. If he won the contest, maybe Mr. Lee could keep his job. Maybe his parents would stop searching for him. So much could ride on this one contest.

* * *

While he was at the Contest Hall, Drew remained hidden for a majority of his time. While there were many people who agreed with what Mr. Lee did, there were still many dissenters. He had to beg Nurse Joy not to call him out when he registered for this contest. But he was there now, and that's all that mattered.

As Drew kept to himself in the far side of the room with Roselia, a salmon haired girl walked up to him.

"It's Drew, isn't it?" Drew mentally cursed. Of course people would recognize him; his pictures have been everywhere. There was no point denying it, but he could at least seem like he belonged.

"Need something?" he asked, flipping his hair, attempting to look as nonchalant as possible. The girl smiled.

"I've seen you on TV. There's been a big deal going on about you, you know," she said.

"So I heard." He watched the TV in the waiting hall, studying the moves of the boy who was performing. "It won't matter soon."

"Oh?" The girl said, seeming amused. "Why's that?" He smirked confidently, looking at her.

"Because once I win this contest, there will be no doubt about it. The world will know I deserve this chance to be Top Coordinator," he told her. The girl looked taken aback. After a few seconds she smiled.

"I like you, Drew," she said approvingly. "I can't wait to see you in the finals. The name's Solidad, by the way." With that, Solidad departed, leaving Drew and Roselia alone. Drew let out a breath of air he'd been holding in and looked at Roselia, who nodded at him in encouragement. He chuckled to himself.

* * *

After the appeal and battle rounds, Drew had made it to the finals. He had done it. He could really win this. He'd get Mr. lee his job, and his parents would be proud, and the world would see how far Drew would go. He just had to win one more battle..

As Drew walked up to the final stage, he took a deep breath. Across from him, Solidad smiled.

"I'm glad you made it, Drew," she encouraged from across the stage. She clutched a pokèball in her hand.

"We'll see if that changes when I win the ribbon, Solidad," Drew replied. He seemed confident enough, but as he clutched his own pokèball, he felt his hands shaking. This was it. He had to win. He couldn't imagine the stakes if he didn't.

The two opponents threw their balls at the same time.

* * *

"Pidgeotto, aerial ace!" Solidad commanded. Drew didn't have time to think. With that one attack, Roselia had fainted.

"No!" he shouted, rushing to help his pokèmon. His points had went to zero. Within three minutes and twenty seven seconds, Drew had lost. As Roselia recovered, Drew's jaw quivered, as he attempted to hold back his tears. He wouldn't cry. Not now.

"And the winner of the Rustboro city contest ribbon is...Solidad!" Vivian, the MC, announced. The audience cheered loudly for Solidad's victory.

Drew pulled out Roselia's pokèball and recalled his friend.

"You did your best, Roselia," he complimented, before walking from the stage. He tried hard to contain his tears, but his efforts were useless. As he returned to the locker room, he felt the tears flow freely.

He had let Mr. Lee down after everything he went through to help him. He would lose his job and his parents would find him. But did he really deserve to be a coordinator after losing that easily?

Drew rushed out of the locker room, unwilling to face any other coordinators after that humiliating defeat. He didn't bother wiping away his tears. It was useless. Everything was useless.

As he exited the pokèmon center, a voice behind him stopped him.

"Drew." He turned, only to run face to face with Solidad. He attempted to hurriedly wipe his tears, however his face, still red from crying, gave him away.

"I must seem pretty pathetic," he said, looking down, unable to meet her in the eye.

"Not at all," Solidad said. "You made it all the way to the finals in your very first pokèmon contest. That's really impressive."

"The finals weren't good enough!" Drew shouted. "I had to win! My teacher put so much on the line for me! My parents will never see that I can do this! I didn't prove anything to anybody!"

"You proved that you have everything it takes to do this: the skill, the drive, the ability, the discipline, the dedication...you only lacked one thing." At this, Drew looked up. "Drew, do you know why you lost today? In the very last battle?" Drew shook his head. "You lacked the confidence. You were confident until you got to the finals, and deep down you began to question yourself. I could see it in your eyes."

"I..." He stopped. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"Drew, you are an amazing coordinator. And if what you did today didn't prove to your family that you are meant to do this, then nothing will. Your teacher sacrificed his job because he believed in you. He doesn't care if you win. He cares if you follow your dreams, and do your best, and most of all have confidence in yourself."

Drew looked down, contemplating Solidad's words. He looked at the pokèball attached to his belt, the pokèball containing the very friend that went through this with him; the very connection that showed Mr. Lee's confidence in him.

"Solidad..." Drew looked up, meeting her eyes with a determined smirk. The same look burned in his eyes as when she met him. "Next time I battle you, I will win. Don't think I'll go down as easy next time," he warned, cooly, flipping his hair.

"I don't expect you to. I look forward to our next meeting and seeing how much you've grown. Goodbye, Drew." With that, Solidad departed, leaving Drew feeling more confident than ever. That is, until he turned to see his parents. The smile that he'd worked up immediately disappeared at the sight of them.

"Drew..." his mother started. Drew began to panic, wondering just how long it would be before he actually would see Solidad again or if he'd ever make any other rivals.

"Did you see the contest?" he asked. They nodded solemnly.

"You made it all the way to the finals," his father said. Drew nodded.

"And I know I'll make it even farther. I'll make it to the Grand Festival. I'll become the Top Coordinator. Of all the regions! I know I can do it, mom and dad, I really do. Please don't blame Mr. Lee for helping me. Don't blame him for giving me the chance. Don't blame him for being the only one to believe in me..." he looked down, scared of what they would do. Would this be the end of his career? Of his dreams?

His parents sighed.

"Drew, we know you can do it," his mother said. "And maybe we weren't giving you the right opportunity before. Maybe we were the ones in the wrong." His father pulled out a pokèball from his pocket.

"Drew, this Masquerain belonged to your brother. He used it in contests. I know you have that Roselia already, but I think your brother would've liked you to have Masquerain in your care." He handed the pokèmon to Drew, who looked at his father in shock.

"You're letting me continue?" he asked incredulously. His parents nodded.

"We managed to get here before your contest started. We wanted to give it to you so that maybe you could use it, but we couldn't find you. Roselia looked really tired by the second round." Drew took the pokèball and attached it to his belt. He rushed towards his parents and hugged them.

"Thank you," he said as they hugged him back. He pulled away from his parents.

"Have a safe journey, Drew. Stay safe," his parents encouraged. Drew nodded and started on his way.

"Oh! Drew!" his mother called after. He turned. "I think you'll be happy to know that Mr. Lee got a job offer from a better paying job. He's staying near the hotel in Slateport Beach awaiting his interview. He wants to see you when you get there."

Drew smiled and turned his back to them, giving them a two fingered wave. He would head to the pokèmon center and head off to Slateport. He may not have proven to the world of his greatness yet, but he'd get there soon.

* * *

-I have got to say, I'm pretty proud of this story. I'd been thinking about doing it for awhile, but only got the drive today. I hope I did well in explaining Drew's start and how he became to act the way he does now (through Solidad's words of adviceA and why he was so upset about losing.

-In case any of you guys haven't seen the Advanced Generation for awhile, the first episode we see Drew in is at Slateport Beach when he's referencing to a private beach. So I was trying to imply that that's why Drew was there. And yes, in this, he's three years older than May.

-I assumed the pokèmon world would work differently with legal ages (because parents are completely okay with kids being independent at 10) , which is why they're legally adults at 13, and are expected to get a stable job at 16.

Think that's all. So, yeah, Criticism encouraged. I'd really like feedback on this one.

CRITICly Anonymous


End file.
